Voluntary Work to build experience & Portfolio
- Terraceat43
- May 18
- 3 min read
Here's a 60-second overview of me discussing my voluntary exprience :
My first Voluntary position was in April 2024. After receiving an email from the UWE Volunteering scheme, I volunteered to repaint a mural along the side of the M32. The mural read:
"WHO CARES WE CARE. VALUE CARE! INVEST IN THE CARING ECONOMY"
This a was surprisingly valuable experience as I met 2 ladies who had graduated from my degree in around 2019. I was discussing how I had tried to switch degrees, as I had doubts around gaining employment upon graduating. I had told them that I hoped to find entry into another career path while on my degree, and they told me that this would be necessary to live in bristol and support my goal to freelance in illustration.
EVOLVE MUSIC
In February 2025, I felt it was necessary to start finding pathways into employment outside hospitality to support my creative work.
I found a non-profit organisation called Evolve Music, which was advertising for creative marketing assistance. I found their marketing manager's email on their company website and emailed a poster i had redesigned from one of their current campaigns. After two weeks of not receiving a reply, I found her phone number and told her what I could offer and what I had emailed her.
Around a month later, I had a meeting with the Executive Director and Marketing manager on Teams. I was slightly overwhelmed my termenology i didnt understand and quickly voice- recorded the meeting on my phone, so once the meeting ended i could google what a trustee was and what CEO stood for. Nope, this is not a joke unfortunatley, But was a important moment of clarity that if i was going to work alongisde any buisness i needed a foundational knowlage i lacked.
So I began to study, I educated myself on how organisations like theirs ran and began researching marketing campaigns for other Bristol-based charities. Around a month later, I presented my campaign ideas, which you can see via the button below:
Unfortunatley the trustee recruitment campaign didn't fully launch as they had secured the trustees they needed during the time i had been preparing my work. But this Role was a pivitol moment on my degree.
BATH CITY FC
I wanted to gain more experience before entering my final year of my degree. I had just begun to study digital marketing and e-commerce, and wanted to find somehwere to apply what i had been learning.
I found a post on a bath voluntry facebook page and found an email of the Bath city FC's media team manager, and sent him my resume and details of why i was reaching out and what i could offer. Similarly to evolve music i did not recive a reply, but after a small dive online i found his phone number and spoke to him directly.
I began the role towards the end of summer 2025, and assisted with matchday filming and social media content. I learned to analyse social media KPIs and how they affect future creation of content. The role was valuable to see how another organisation functioned, but entering 2026 i stopped volunteering after gaining valuable experience and hoping to move into a paid role, and focus on my studies.
You can see my work with them on their Instagram linked below. I created video footage and motion graphics, and an illustrated Christmas graphic for their 12 days of christmas in 2025.
Period Friendly Places
After being offered an internship but declining after receiving another position, I volunteered with Period Friendly Place in January this year. I created illustrated motion graphics on After Effects, as I wanted to support their cause and learn to use After Effects for my internship at the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which was to begin in February.
Honestly, the experience was lovely, as I met with the executive director of the organisation a couple of times over coffee, and he gave me helpful advice for future job interviews as he was a recruitment manager before retiring. And it was a great opportunity to learn to work for a brand that does not have guidelines, so I tried to create an illustrative style for their organisation.
SEE MY WORK HERE :
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